Se7en Quickies:
Simone Di Maggio

The first gig you played as the Astrophonix?
The first gig was awful! Not because of how badly we played but because of where we played. We decided to accept a kind of last-minute preview concert before all the other gigs already booked played. The place was a small club in Florence and I think the owner was some sort of criminal! I remember dangerously trying to get paid by him at the end of the night! I think we decided to work under contract after that. Anyway, the gig was fine, even though there were no more than 25 people!

The last record you bought/downloaded/blagged?
I bought very few albums over the last year. I suppose because I don’t really find any new band interesting enough. Amongst the not-rockabilly albums, the one I like the most is definitely American Idiot by Green Day. It’s a very mature album, which proves they are not just an easy-pop punk band but one of the most complete and talented bands of the last 15 years. And I think they are really underestimated by the rock ’n’ roll underground people. A great band!

The most embarrassing lyrics you have ever written?
I think Never Did It For Romance. It talks about a one-night sex affair – please notice I wrote most of the lyrics with my girlfriend Irene Fab! Anyway, I always have so much fun playing it live!

The craziest thing a fan has done to the band?
Deciding to become my girlfriend... just kidding! Some years ago we were in La Spezia [in northwest Italy] for a gig and our van was parked outside the club. A girl wrote ‘Simone sei bellissimo (you’re beautiful)’ on the front with her red lipstick! It was freezing outside and the lipstick got frozen so we had to scratch it away from the van to remove it! My double bass player – the owner of the van – got absolutely mad! It was so much fun!

The shittest job you had in the past?
When I left school I delivered advertising flyers door to door – terrible job! Also before the Astrophonix, I used to play in tiny and very dirty clubs in Florence and nearby. Once I played for seven people on Christmas Eve in a room without heating, eating just a sandwich for dinner! Merry Christmas, Simone!

Best thing about your home town, Florence?
La bistecca alla Fiorentina! (Local beefsteak, very thick, raw but melting like butter.) [The cattle] were born here in Florence! You can eat so well in the city.

Guitarist you would like to work with the most?
Brian Setzer, no doubt. I think he was my very first idol and inspiration after I played guitar for the first time! So talented, he’s the only one who has constantly reinvented himself during his career. He played rockabilly like no one else before, he played pop-rock and did it well, he played swing-jazz and is absolutely brilliant. He’s the man. It would be a dream for me if he could listen to my music and maybe produce it! It would be an honour for me to be his heir – who can tell?

Twenty-two-year-old guitarist Simone Di Maggio played in Hong Kong with The Di Maggio Connection last year but this time he is bringing his own brand of rockabilly sound with his band the Astrophonix, which includes bassist Tommy Faglia and drummer Mr Scintilla in Roots Rumble. The other act on the double bill will be ska crusader Go Jimmy Go from Hawaii, with supporting acts El Destroyo and Transnoodle. The gig on March 28 at Grappa’s Cellar will start at 8pm and tickets are $220 with one drink from Grappa’s Cellar, StarCrossed Tattoo, White Noise Records and Records Rendezvous.